


Military Ball Preferences

by peggy_hamilton



Series: Band Of Brothers Imagines [32]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peggy_hamilton/pseuds/peggy_hamilton
Summary: You're a part of easy company and one of the boys wants to ask you to the upcoming ball. Preference fic.
Relationships: Carwood Lipton/You, David Webster/You, Eugene Roe/You, Richard Winters/You, Shifty Powers/You
Series: Band Of Brothers Imagines [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1454176
Kudos: 8





	Military Ball Preferences

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on my tumblr @justthinkingofwaystoavoidbusses
> 
> original request: How about Easy Company is invited to attend a military ball, most of them have dates but some of them are a bit more shy than they seem and have to find someone to take? - anon
> 
> the beginning of this is the same for everyone, then you can scroll down to find the ending with whichever easy boy you want. I can't figure out how to bold/underline on here so their names are in caps to signify their section, hopefully it stands out enough <3

You had been working alongside easy company from the get go, you were the field nurse assigned to them and you were just as much a part of the company as the next guy. The war was coming to an end, VE Day was just over a week ago, the fight in the Pacific raged on and the threat of dropping back into combat loomed over their heads but the higher ups had organised a military ball to celebrate victory in Europe and you were going to celebrate. If you were going to fight in the Pacific you weren’t going to waste what time you had left sitting around and moping about it, you were going to have fun.

Nobody had asked you to go to the ball, most of the guys had found local girls they barely knew to go with them for one night of fun. You didn’t mind, you were going either way, you had your dress greens ready for tonight and while they weren’t very flattering but it was better than your usual uniform.

RICHARD WINTERS

“No date?” Nixon asked while Dick fumbled with his tie in the mirror for the fourth time, he had never been fond of ties and he much preferred his OD’s.

“Who’d want to go with me?” he replied, eyeing his friend in the mirror.

Nixon shrugged and sipped at some Vat 69, “Go up to a girl and tell them you’re a major, they’ll be putty in your hands.”

Dick sighed, “I don’t want to go with some random local girl, Nix. I don’t even want to go,” he mumbled, if he was still a lieutenant he would be planning on slipping out after the first five minutes but now he was a major it was part of his job to show his face at these events, all the way through them

Nix’s smile grew, “I have the perfect idea.”

“What?” he asked wearily.

“Why don’t you ask Y/N to go with you, she doesn’t have a date as far as I’m aware.”

Dick practically choked on air and his face turned a deep shade of red, “Why would I do that?” he asked, not looking back at the other man. He had known you since you arrived at Toccoa and you had been good friends throughout the war, like him you didn’t drink so you had bonded quickly. It had been a natural progression from friendship to deeper feelings, but he was a man who stuck to the rules and he knew that a relationship between the two of you could never start whilst you were both in service.

“Because you like her,” Nixon answered simply.

“Everyone likes her,” Dick reasoned.

“True, but you like her.”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

—

At the ball you tugged your skirt lower, it had been so long since you had worn one you forgot what it felt like and how annoying it could be when the skirt kept rising up your waist. You spotted Dick and Nixon in the corner of the room and pushed through the crowds to get to them, “Hey, guys,” you greeted, sitting next to Dick.

“I’m gonna get another drink,” Nix quickly left leaving you and Dick alone.

“How are you, major?” you asked, your lips quirked in a grin.

“Just fine, and you?”

“Splendid.” You perked up when you heard your favourite song come on, “Dance with me?” you asked him.

Dick moved to protest, “Oh no, I don’t know how to dance.”

“Nonsense, neither can I!” you had already grabbed his hand and you tugged him onto the dance floor. You hadn’t realised how close you would have to be to him but now you were almost chest to chest as you danced around to the beat, you had always liked Dick, perhaps more than you should, but you rarely got to see him anymore after he got promoted.

Dick looked at his feet, concentrating on not stepping on yours which made his movements a little stiff. “Stop thinking,” you raised your voice to be heard over the music.

He looked you in the eyes, “I don’t want to step on your feet.”

“I can handle it if you do,” you smiled gently at him, stepping into a move. Soon he found an easy rhythm to stick to with you, daring to spin you around a few times and listening to you giggle.

Nixon watched you and Dick dance from the side of the dance floor with Harry, “Who knew, hey?” he smirked. The two of you were laughing, the rest of the world completely forgotten by both of you.

Harry snickered, “Everybody.”

SHIFTY POWERS

Shift was an excellent shot, that much anybody knew, but he was also one of the more shy guys. While everyone was boasting about their dates to the ball he only had one girl on his mind, you. It was crazy, you had been there since the beginning and you had often shared foxholes with him, he didn’t want to settle for some girl from town when he knew that you were going to be there.

Problem was, he was too nervous to ask you to go with him. What if you shot him down? What if you didn’t feel the same way?

You chewed your lip as you walked around the houses where the company was billeted, the ball was in less than two hours and you still didn’t have anybody to go with. Some of the guys didn’t have dates so it wasn’t as if you would be the only one, but it was much easier to find a local girl to bring than a local guy.

If you wanted a date it would have to be someone in easy and while you knew they would all be happy to take you as a friend, there was one guy on your mind who you were hoping would ask you but so far he hadn’t. Shifty was easily your best friend, he had been the first to welcome you into the company and you had stuck together ever since. You had each seen each other at your worst and at your best, you had grown immeasurably fond of the Virginian man and if you were to go with anyone you knew you wanted it to be him.

Just as luck would have it, you spotted him a few houses ahead standing on his own. “Shifty!” you called out to him and jogged up to him, he smiled when he saw you. “You going to the ball?” you broached the subject.

“Yeah, you?” he asked and you nodded, “Going with anyone?”

“No, you?” You weren’t sure but you thought you saw him sigh in relief.

“Me neither, you want to go together as friends?” he asked. You had to bite your tongue to hide your disappointment but nodded in agreement anyway.

“Sure thing.”

Shifty shuffled his weight, looking anywhere but at you, “It’s not been easy finding a date.”

“Sure hasn’t.”

He looked at you, “What? Even a dame as pretty as you?” he asked and both of you blushed when you realised what he had just said.

“Not many guys ‘around here who’d want to go on a date to a ball with me,” you shrugged, kicking lightly at the ground.

Shifty licked his lip and went to say something but changed his mind, “Their loss,” he comforted.

You flashed him a small smile, “Thanks, Shift.”

There was a silence between the two of you and a breeze blew down the streets. At the same time you both sucked up the courage to just come out and say it.

“Would you be my date?”

“Would you take me?”

It took a second for what the other had said to sink in but then you both broke out into bashful grins, “I love to,” you grinned and Shifty smiled so big you were sure his face would split in half.

CARWOOD LIPTON

He was happy the war was over in Europe, he wanted to leave that part of his life firmly behind him. Bastogne had been hell, Hagenau and Landsberg had been something else. The only way he had managed to survive it all was thanks to you, both from your nursing abilities and friendship.

Ask either of them and they would usually be able to tell you where the other one was, he hadn’t been all that close to you in training but after Normandy and Holland you had become fast friends. “Who are you taking, Lip?” Luz asked, trying his shoelaces.

“No one,” he sighed.

“None of the local ladies interested, huh?” he teased, wherever they went the locals loved them and were all over them. It was nothing like Eindhoven but even Cobb had managed to get a date from a girl in town so he was surprised that Lipton didn’t have a date.

Lipton shook his head with a faint smile, “Not a lack of offers I just didn’t want to take any of them is all.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not fair on them when I know I don’t want to take it further than dancing.”

“Such a gentlemen,” Luz grinned and Lipton chuckled with a roll of his eyes, truth was the only girl on his mind was you and spending the night with another girl felt like cheating even if you weren’t together.

Luz got a mischievous look on his face and Lipton followed his gaze out of the window to see you stood there talking to a supply officer, “Say, Lip, I don’t think Y/N has a date either.”

“Luz,” Lipton warned but Luz was already out of his seat and out of the house.

“Hey, Y/N,” Luz called out to you and you smiled at him as he ran up to where you were.

“What is it?”

“Do you have a date this evening?” he asked quickly.

You frowned, “No, why?”

“Neither does Lipton, why don’t you go with him?” he asked just as Lipton caught up with him, Lipton grimaced when the words fell from George’s mouth.

You held back a smile, amused by the situation, you peered round at Lip then faced George. “Depends, does he actually want to or did you come out here without permission?”

“He wants to.”

“He didn’t ask.”

Your smile grew and you looked at Lipton, it was plain to see that he was attractive. He was loyal and funny and smart, everything you could ever hope to find in a guy but it just so happened you weren’t allowed to date any of the men. The higher ups had been very adamant about that which you hadn’t thought would ever be a problem, until you really got to know Lip. “Would you like me to be your date?”

“I would be honoured,” he smiled shyly at you.

“Great, then I’ll meet you here and you can walk me over,” you grinned. George smiled as he watched you two, his matchmaking plan falling into place. Half the company was betting on when you and Lipton would actually get together, he had a fair bit of money resting on this so sue him for wanting to speed up the process. He also wanted to see his two best friends happy so it was a win win situation. Slowly he backed away, not that either of you noticed.

—

Lipton was a surprisingly good dancer, you learnt, as you stepped into another move as the band changed the song to something more uptempo. He spun you around and pulled you back to him earning some whistles from the men who were watching the dance floor.

You were out of breath by the time the band played a slow song and you happily rested your head on Carwood’s shoulder as you gently swayed to the beat. “I’m glad you asked me.”

“Luz asked you for me.”

“I’m glad Luz asked you for me,” you smiled and you heard his laugh reverberate through his chest.

“Me too,” he whispered into your ear, discreetly pressing a kiss to your forehead.

DAVID WEBSTER

His return to the company hadn’t been the warm welcome he had been expecting. Everyone gave him the cold shoulder and didn’t listen to what he had to say, he understood why but it still hurt. The only person who treated him like they used to was you. You had changed a lot since he last saw you but you still had that same smile and quick wit, you had been at the aid station before he was taken away to a hospital and you had spent the time talking about your favourite books and plays.

When he arrived in Hagenau he hadn’t spotted you right away, you usually hung around with second platoon, so when he asked after guys who he found out were dead and badly wounded he stopped himself from asking about you. He didn’t want to know the answer.

He had never been more relieved to see you in CP taking care of Lipton who had pneumonia. Since then whatever time he had spare he would use it to seek you out, he was a romantic at heart and it hit him all too quickly that he had deep feelings for you that didn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

The military ball was the perfect excuse to ask you on a date and if it went wrong he could just blame the higher ups for organising such a crappy event. Plus, it may be his only chance to, you didn’t live near each other back in the states.

You were loved by the whole company, whereas he was sure he was hated (at the very most tolerated). He didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of everyone so he resigned himself to the typical unrequited love problem he was used to by now.

You were not so unsure. You had known David since before he got hit, you had always connected with him over your love of literature and while you knew the rest of the guys didn’t so much like him anymore that didn’t change your feelings.

In Bastogne you had often thought of him, he hadn’t come back so you assumed his injury had been worse than you thought and he was taken off the line or maybe reassigned to a new unit, a thought that made you unreasonably upset. When you had saw him arrive in CP fresh as a daisy your first thought was relief, then anger that he had missed Bastogne, then relief again because you knew he wouldn’t have made it if he was there.

There was no point denying your feelings for the Harvard man, you had always been pretty straightforward when it came to things like this. You spotted him up ahead smoking a cigarette and ran up to him, “Hey, Web, don’t you clean up nicely.”

He smiled and looked down at his dress greens then yours, “Back at you.”

You grinned, “Thanks, so I was thinking- neither of us have a date so would you want to be mine?”

He blanked for a moment, shocked, “You want me to be your date?”

You shrugged, “If you want.”

He searched your eyes for a moment as if trying to decipher if you were playing some kind of joke, he seemed to find what he wanted because he smiled shyly and ducked his head. “That sounds lovely.”

You smiled wider, “Brilliant.”

EUGENE ROE

You were a field nurse which meant you spent a lot of time with Eugene, you shared foxholes and worked with him in aid stations. You liked to think you were one of the few people who could get the quiet man to open up a bit, you had to admit you had fallen for his thick accent and soft smile but there was never a right time to talk about your feelings.

Eugene was in the same boat, you were headstrong and feisty but you could be calm and comforting. The war was finally over, on one of the fronts at least, and while he was almost certain they were going to jump into Japan he wanted to enjoy peace while it lasted.

He was walking around the village when he spotted you, it wasn’t hard to. He had become accustomed to the shape of your silhouette and you were the only female around in dress greens, “Y/N,” he greeted as he took a seat on the bench next to you.

“Hey, Gene,” you greeted softly, closing your eyes and soaking up the warm evening sun. “Are you going tonight?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Mhm. Got a pretty dame to take with you? I’m sure there’s still some time left,” you spoke, ignoring the twist in your gut that told you to stop trying to push him in the way of other women.

“Nah, not sure any of them would go with me.”

“You asked?”

“A few,” he admitted guiltily, “But they already had dates.” He huffed, he knew that all of them couldn’t have dates as all of them couldn’t have even heard about it but he was raised right so he took the rejection peacefully.

You shifted to face him, “Well, they’re all out of their mind. You’re a real catch, Gene.”

“You think so?” he blushed.

You nodded confidently, “I know so.”

“So would you go with me?” the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

You froze then smiled shyly, “I’d love to.”

He looked at you incredulously, “Really.”

You nodded, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me since we first found out the ball was being held.”


End file.
